"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
1 Corinthians 15:58

6.23.2011

The Seraph Seal by Leonard Sweet & Lori Wagner

About the book:Set in 2048, when planet Earth is suffering from the damaging effects of years of misuse and abuse, cultural history professor Paul Binder receives a mysterious letter that leads him to examine a lost 2nd-century Diatessaron manuscript. Ancient prophecies, cryptic letters, and strange events set him on a course to uncover the missing clues that could lead humanity into a new age. Layered with forgotten symbolism from the ancient, Jewish, and Christian traditions, the novel is a type of engaged fiction in which the main character's lost journal serves as a guide to the reader in interpreting clues and understanding the novel's conclusion.

Leonard Sweet is a Senior Professor at Drew University (New Jersey) and a Distinguished Visiting Professor at George Fox University (Oregon). He contributes weekly to sermons.com and is a member of the Twitter Elite and Top 50 Facebook Pages. His increasing global influence has recently been recognized with his 2010 listing in the "Top 10 Most Influential Christian Leaders in the World" by Christian Telegraph.

Lori Wagner is a writer and novelist who has published poetry, articles and reviews on cultural studies of literature and has taught undergraduate and graduate courses on writing, English and German literature, and science and culture for over 25 years.

My review: Leonard Sweet and Lori Wagner do an excellent job of creating a believable future world their Apocalyptic novel, The Seraph Seal. The storyline was complex and fast-paced. Within the blink of an eye we are taken from one end of the world to another. This writing duo, do an excellent job of creating mystery and intrigue. But honestly, I wasn't engaged. There were so many characters to keep track of, from all over the world each with their own connected plot line, that I found it hard to feel or bond with any of them. So many of the characters weren't very nice either.

As I said, I had a hard time relating to any of the characters, and I just was sorta, "out of it." I didn't get swept off my feet into the story; I wasn't chomping at the bit to finish it either. But that's my personal feeling. I guess it was partly to do with how it was supposed to be the future of America, and how stark and sad it was. Also elements of the plot didn't really seem realistic in any way. And I had problems with how the book - I don't know how to say it - but they sort of added to the Bible, and that didn't sit well with me. Reading this book I had red flags, signs, flashing lights, and sirens going off at me, and I disagreed with how the fictional prophecies seemed to be tacked onto scripture verses taken out of context. I know this was fiction, but I just didn't sit well with me. This is MY personal opinion.

Overall this book started out well, but later on I lost interest, and things popped out as wrong to me. I recommend that this book be read with a mountain of discernment. Thank you.

*To avoid a conflict of interest I must, in order to comply with the FTC, inform you that I received this book for free in exchange for my help promoting this book and my honest opinion. I was not required to give a positive review. So this is my honest opinion. Thanks!

Special thanks to Booksneeze for my complimentary copy of The Seraph Seal.